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In his farewell address today as chairman of the Fairfax County
Board of Supervisors, Gerald E. Connolly thanked county residents for
their support during his time on the board, “I am tremendously proud
of the work we have accomplished together.” Connolly will be representing
Virginia’s 11th Congressional District in the U.S. House of
Representatives. The address will be aired on Fairfax County
Government Channel 16 tonight Dec. 31, at 7:30 p.m. and again on Jan. 2
at 5:30 p.m. and Jan. 4 at 5:30 p.m.

Connolly called on President-elect Barack Obama and the incoming
Congress to direct stimulus assistance to localities and states. “Aid
to localities and states makes sense. All of them have shovel-ready
transportation and other capital projects ready to go that can put people
to work tomorrow morning.” He pointed out that state and local
governments all across the nation are experiencing plummeting revenues
and resulting fiscal stress not seen since the Great Depression.

Swift assistance for the municipal bond market’s recovery is crucial,
Connolly emphasized, proposing federal loan guarantees or the
creation of a new federal finance mechanism to facilitate the municipal
bond market. “The new president and the 111th Congress should move
immediately to reassert confidence in the high grade, already secure
municipal bond market so that capital projects can be financed once again
throughout the country.”

In his address, Connolly reflected on his 14 years on the Board of
Supervisors, first as the Providence District supervisor and then as
chairman for the past five years. “Virtually the entire quality of our
lives is directly affected by the decisions we make at the local
government level,” he said.

Connolly touched on many of the initiatives that occurred during his
tenure including environmental stewardship; affordable housing
preservation; foreclosure assistance; the plan to end homelessness; gang
prevention activities; transportation improvements, including the
expansion of Metrorail to Tysons; and numerous countywide meetings with
the public for input on the fiscal Year 2010 Budget.